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Anonymous Vows To Destroy Facebook
DarkOx sends this snippet from BusinessInsider:
"Anonymous has vowed to destroy Facebook on November 5th (which should ring a bell). Citing privacy concerns and the difficulty involved in deleting a Facebook account, Anonymous hopes to 'kill Facebook,' the 'medium of communication [we] all so dearly adore.' They continued, 'It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. ... Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them "for their own good" while they then make millions off of you. When a service is "free," it really means they're making money off of you and your information.'"
if not at least deface it!
The majority of people on facebook are well adjusted, sociable people. Facebook is used to let your friends know what you're up to without having to call them one by one. It's used to share photos, without having to email out links to an online album. It's used to make plans and invite people to parties. Yes, it's also used for stupid shit like Farmville, but even the people who play that generally do other things too. Methinks you're projecting.
Authoritarian governments by definition rule people because they think the people cannot self-rule. As in, authoritarian governments think they are "saving" their people. With that in mind, balance this quote from Anonymouse: "Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria." ...with this one a few sentences down:
"One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you."
Sound familiar? Anonymouse are doing what those they claim to fight against are doing. Just another dictatorship that claims to be "rulers of the internet" that defends its "dictatorship" with petty DDoS attacks and makes outlandish and extremist claims that are on par with the "We will destroy America" claims we hear from the dits in the Mid-East. In the end, Anonymouse are nothing but wannabe digital terrorists and nothing they have done or will do matters. Their activities are as much a waste of time results-wise as the Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda and all the years of ridiculous and resultsless claims, proclamations and violence had accomplished nothing, while one humble fella with a can of gasoline and a match set the dominoes falling, toppling governments in one simple act of self-immolation. And, interestingly, as much as they brag about being anonymous, a bunch of them are being rounded up by the Feds. So much for anarchistic intelligence.
The world is always crumbling around our feet...
I know what I'm giving up, and I give it up gladly for the services I receive. You may disagree. But who are you to tell the rest of us what we should and shouldn't do?
Why should I care that some companies know my buying habits? I am one of billions. There exist some unfathomably vast spreadsheets with a row that indicates I like oatmeal for breakfast and enjoy the works of Terry Pratchett. Why should that bother me? If anything it means that more stores will stock oatmeal and more quality humorous fantasy books will get made.
They certainly don't have my most intimate thoughts, because those rarely leave my lips and never enter a computer. They may have a few angry letters I wrote, but so what? I'm one of billions. No one's likely to see it, and unless it's something really egregious, no one will ever care.
Frankly, I think you're paranoid. You think that people care about tracking you, personally. Let me assure you, you're not that important. No one cares. That's a good thing. You're one of billions, and well below the notice of multinational corporations. If you're afraid of using facebook, fine, but don't go demanding it be destroyed because of your fear.
But wait until you try and do something about the world. Maybe you'll run for political office. Or want to help out at child care center down the street. Wanted that teacher's license? Maybe someone will find out that people that google Cheerios, fucktards, and pantyhose are statistically proven to be terrorists and need to be rounded up and vilified. They'll look around for a while until that one row in one table in one database outs you. Then you're toast.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
A people that is willing to judge your leadership by something you might have done years ago which they found out about on facebook doesn't deserve a good leader. Maybe they should stick to the other kind - the too-good-to-be-true whitened teeth clean new shirted smooth talking liar who is going to rape them in the face the first chance s/he gets. You know, the kind we have all the time.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.